07/20/2026
For seven years, I have poured my heart, my creativity, and countless hours into this little business. There have been far more highs than lows, but the time has come to hang up my apron.
Kate’s Bakes was built on a simple promise: high quality ingredients, homemade desserts made fresh to order, custom cakes created with intention, and treats that felt like home. Every order mattered to me. Every conversation mattered to me. Every customer mattered to me.
For seven years, little pieces of my heart have been part of your birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, graduations, holidays, weddings, family dinners, and those “just because” cravings. Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of your biggest moments. That has never been something I’ve taken for granted.
Like many small business owners, I dreamed big. My greatest dream was to one day open a café; a place filled with homemade family-style meals, desserts you couldn’t stop thinking about, and a warm atmosphere where people gathered around the table. I wanted Kate’s to become one of those places people simply said by name.
“Let’s go to Kate’s for dinner.”
I worked tirelessly toward that dream. But I’ve also learned that sometimes strength isn’t found in holding tighter to a dream—it’s found in recognizing when God is gently leading you toward a different one.
Over the years, our community has become filled with incredibly talented bakers. The cost of quality ingredients has continued to rise, but I could never bring myself to charge prices that didn’t align with the values I built this business on. I wanted every family to receive the very best I could offer, even if it meant sacrificing my own paycheck.
The reality is that Kate’s Bakes has never been able to provide a sustainable future for my family. Between licensing, insurance, accounting, business expenses, ingredients, and everything required to keep the doors open, there was rarely anything left to pay myself for the countless hours behind the scenes.
And that’s okay.
Because this business was never built on money.
It was built on love.
As many of you know, I also work alongside my parents as a graphic designer and office assistant. With their retirement on the horizon and a growing desire to build a different future for my family, I’ve made the decision to return to school full time this August. In just three years, I’ll graduate with my master’s degree and begin a completely new career—one that I feel deeply called to pursue.
While I am incredibly excited for what’s ahead, it doesn’t make this goodbye any easier.
In fact, it’s one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made.
Over the coming months, I’ll be selling many of the things that helped build Kate’s Bakes, including my dessert trailer, which I designed and built with my own two hands, along with baking equipment and supplies that have been part of this journey.
This isn’t the end of everything, though.
One project that’s especially close to my heart is my entirely gluten-free cookbook. I’ll be opening preorders in the coming months, and it brings me so much joy knowing I’ll still be able to share my love of baking with all of you. My hope is that the recipes you’ve enjoyed over the years will continue to be made around your own kitchen tables.
To every single person who ever placed an order…
Thank you.
Thank you for trusting me with your celebrations.
Thank you for recommending me to your friends.
Thank you for supporting a dream that began in my home kitchen and grew into something I never imagined.
Thank you for every kind word, every review, every share, every repeat order, and every ounce of encouragement along the way.
Kate’s Bakes gave me so much more than a business.
It gave me confidence.
It gave me purpose.
It gave me friendships.
It gave me a community I’ll never forget.
This chapter is coming to an end, but I truly believe it’s making room for an even more beautiful one to begin.
From the bottom of my heart…
Thank you for seven unforgettable years.
With all my love,
Kaitlin Smith
Founder of Kate’s Bakes (2019-2026)
